Irma Vitovska presents a charity art project “Oscar and the Lady in Pink”

For the first time in Ukraine actress Irma Vitovska, the band “Ocean Elzy”, stage director Rostyslav Derzhypilsky, artist Andriy Yarmolenko, choreographer Olga Semyoshkina unite their efforts to work on charity theater project “OscarandtheLadyinPink” based on the novel by a world famous classic of the contemporary world literature Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.

For the first time in Ukraine actress Irma Vitovska, the band “Ocean Elzy”, stage director Rostyslav Derzhypilsky, artist Andriy Yarmolenko, choreographer Olga Semyoshkina unite their efforts to work on charity theater project “OscarandtheLadyinPink” based on the novel by a world famous classic of the contemporary world literature Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. The purpose of the project is to draw attention of the Ukrainian society to a mega serious social problem of availability of palliative care for terminally ill Ukrainian children.

The press conference participants:

  1. Irma Vitovska, project initiator, the leading role (the Lady in Pink).
  2. Rostyslav Derzhypilsky, people’s artist of Ukraine, stage director of the project, Art Director of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Music and Drama Theater Named after I.Franko.
  3. Bogdan Strutynsky, Art Director of the Kyiv National Academic Operetta Theater.
  4. Andriy Yermolenko, artist of the project.
  5. Vlad Balyuk and Marko Kyrylchuk, performers of the Oscar role, students of the Ivano-Frankivsk Theater Studio.
  6. Ksenia Shapoval, direction of the drug policy program of the PublicHealth ProgramInitiative of the International Renaissance Foundation.
  7. Ludmila-Oksana Andriyishyn, president of the charitable foundation “Mother Teresa”.

Oscar and the Lady in Pink” (Oscar et la dame rose) is the collection of thirteen very moving letters to God of a hopelessly sick boy Oscar. In his letters this terminally ill kid begs the Almighty for mercy, joy in the last days of his life, and for harmony and love in the entire world. It happens that an amazing woman becomes a mediator for Oscar – an intermediary between the God and the people. Some time ago she performed at the circus arena as a boxer and now she is a nurse. This is the Lady in Pink, a compassionate and spiritual person. Oscar’s monologues are addressed to God and Oscar’s dialogues with the Lady in Pink constitute an internal plot of the emotional and cathartic book by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt described by the author himself as a novel. The book was first published in 2002, and it immediately won millions of fans around the world. In 2009 the book was published in Ukrainian.

The text of “Oscar” became a basis for theatre productions in different countries, mainly in the format of monologues. Among the most famous theatre productions is the performance featuring the celebrity actress Alisa Freundlich (2004, St. Petersburg, stage director V.Pazi). In 2009 the book was filmed, and the author himself has become a film director.

In the autumn of 2015 – for the first time in the world theatre ever – on the Ukrainian stage the performance of “Oscar and the Lady in Pink” will depart from the usual format of solo performances and duo performances. A new Ukrainian stage version based on “Oscar” will offer to viewers a polyphonic and multi-character theatre performance. In the stage practices of the world theatre it will be the Ukrainian version of “Oscar” in which for the first time ever “Oscar” will co-exist between two worlds: documentary and animation.

Also, the first time ever, the future play on the Ukrainian stage based on the novel by E.-E.Schmitt is going to involve both stage professionals as well as children debutants. They, small actors, will have to live through the most difficult life moments, dreams and hopes through the images of Oscar, Peggy Blue, and other characters. Through Oscar’s eyes the Ukrainian viewers will see his “youth”, first love, married life, midlife crisis, as well as his old age and the expectation of imminent death. Following the advice of the Lady in Pink, the terminally ill kid lives every day that remains for him in this world as ten years. In this way Oscar will “live” through illusory 110 years.

The purpose of this charity theatre project is to give impetus to the Ukrainian society to realize the bitter problems of the children, which, as the Schmittian boy, are having a hard time every day of their life.

The future performance should drive not only the creative but also the public debate on the development of the palliative care facilities for sick children, the need to create special mobile teams to provide palliative care at home and to ensure that all young patients have needed medicines.

According to official data, every year almost 17 thousand Ukrainian children are in need of palliative care as well as in need of our compassion. Today most young patients with acute diseases often die at home without high quality palliative care and proper pain relief, or in intensive care units, being detached from their families.

“The problem of access to quality palliative care in Ukraine has not been recognized on the national level and not ensured on the regional level. The lack of the system of pediatric palliative care leads to the fact that most seriously ill children do not leave their homes all their lives, whereas the parents, being tied up to a sick child, have to solve all their problems on their own. The mission of the charity theatre project “Oscar and the Lady in Pink” is the creation of the full scale system of the palliative care for children in Ukraine,” – says Ksenia Shapoval, manager of the direction of drug policy, the Public Health Program Initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation.

The premiere of “Oscar and the Lady in Pink” is scheduled for October 11, 2015 (in the premises of the Kyiv National Operetta Theater). The author, world famous writer Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, is also invited to the show.

 

The international charity theatre art project “Oscar and the Lady in Red” includes both premiere performances followed by the public debates on palliative care problems, like in Kyiv, and the tour around Ukrainian cities (Lutsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk etc.).

Project partners: Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, Kyiv City State Administration, Kyiv National Operetta Theatre.

The initiator and the main organizer of the project is the Ivano-Frankivsk Charitable Foundation “Mother Teresa”.

Implementation of the project: Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Music and Drama Theatre named after I.Franko.

The project is implemented owing to support of the Public Health Program Initiative by the International Renaissance Foundation.

Contacts: Public Health Program Initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Information for the media: Anastasia Bezverkha, 067 4465330, karabashi@gmail.com

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